We'll Go Together
by Rirureddo
Summary: What if Rouge The Bat decided to follow Shadow The Hedgehog after the battle between the Cascade Resistance and the Metarex instead of returning to Dr. Eggman with the Chaos Emerald she and Shadow were sent to retrieve? Takes place at the end of the episode 'A Revolutionary Tale' from "Sonic X."


_**~We'll Go Together~**_

Rouge The Bat sighed softly as she crossed her arms under her chest and looked out over the cliff she and Shadow The Hedgehog were standing on at the sunset on the horizon. It had been a few hours since the two of them had participated in a battle between the Metarex and a group of humans on a distant planet. Though victorious, the battle had left both Rouge and Shadow with heavy hearts as the leader of the humans, a young girl named Molly, disappeared during the fight and no one had any idea where she could possibly be. In the short time they had known her, Rouge and Shadow had grown fond of Molly because of her sheer determination to defend her home from the Metarex and far she was willing to go to stop them from invading and taking their Planet Egg.

_'That girl sure had a lot of heart and spunk,' _Rouge thought to herself as a soft breeze blew by. _'I hope she's alright, wherever she is.'_

"I gotta admit," the bat said out loud. "That Molly chick, she was tougher than I thought. Its not everyday you see a human like her take the stand that she did. Needless to say, she impressed me." It was then that she noticed just how silent Shadow had been. He hadn't said much of anything since the battle ended and wondered what was on his mind. "Hey Shadow," she said, getting his attention. "You've been pretty quiet over there. You okay?"

The hedgehog, who had been looking down at the ground for the past few minutes, lifted his head up and looked over at her, the sunset reflecting slightly off his crimson eyes. "Sure, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

Rouge knew that wasn't the whole story. It was obvious that he was thinking of Molly just as she was. His demeanor and tone of voice was a dead giveaway. "It's just...you seemed to like her and all. Its not like you to show that kind of care and concern for humans."

As much as Shadow tried to ignore her words, even he had to admit that was true. "Well sure, I liked her. She was a good kid and she made a choice - a choice to stand up for her beliefs and as you said, make a stand against those trying to destroy her home." He turned his attention to the sky, looking in the direction Molly was last seen flying in. "I just hope she'll be okay. She's all alone out there. That's all."

A look of surprise and confusion appeared on Rouge's face as she thought about what Shadow said. She never thought she'd hear him speak of any human other than Maria that way and her look was soon replaced by a smirk. "Well now, isn't that something - Shadow The Hedgehog showing compassion for the first time in forever. Never thought I'd see the day."

Shadow continued to look up at the sky, silently hoping to see some kind of trace of Molly but it was for naught. While he was doing so, one word Rouge said played itself over and over in his head - compassion. It had been over fifty years since he last felt that emotion for a human and he didn't know why he was feeling it for a girl he hadn't even known for that long. Perhaps there was something about her that reminded him of his departed friend Maria that caused him to do so. Or maybe it was the determination she displayed that reminded he a lot of himself. The answer seemed to escape him, but he also discovered that his time with Molly enabled him to do something else, something he himelf thought he'd never do - trust others.

Rouge saw Shadow was deep in thought and was about to say something until she saw the hedgehog turn to face her. "Huh?"

Shadow began walking towards her, taking out the Chaos Emerald they had retrieved for Dr. Eggman while on the planet. As he passed the bat, he tossed it to her.

Rouge instinctively caught the gemstone in her hands and looked at the hedgehog with a bewildered look on her face. "What...?" She couldn't believe that Shadow was entrusting her with the Chaos Emerald that just a few hours earlier she was planning on taking for her herself but he had stopped her from doing so.

"Give that to Eggman, will you?" he asked as he continued on his way.

"Wait a sec!" Rouge called out to his retreating form. "Where're you going?"

Shadow stopped in his tracks, not looking back to her as he answered. "I don't know. Maybe to find Molly, maybe to stop the Metarex in my own way, maybe both. All I know is, I've got to do something."

"By yourself?" Rouge asked as she caught up with him and stood beside him as another breeze blew by. "I mean, I know you're the Ultimate Life Form and all, but what do you expect to accomplish all by yourself against those guys? Those Metarex mean serious business. And as for Molly..." Her voice became a bit softer. "...who knows where she could be? She could be anywhere in the universe for all you know."

Shadow sighed as he realized that he could potentially be going on a journey that would be for nothing. He knew there was a chance he'd never find Molly and fail at destroying the Metarex. Despite that, it didn't waver his resolve. "That's a possibility," he said to Rouge before continuing to walk. "But I'll never know if I don't try."

Rouge let out an exasperated scoff of disbelief as she placed her hands on her hips and watched Shadow leave. "You can be really stubborn, you know that?" As Shadow went further away from her, Rouge thought about how reluctant Shadow was and how dead-set he was on doing this. She then remembered the Chaos Emerald Shadow had given her and how he instructed her to give it Eggman once she returned to his space station. _ 'That hedgehog is a real hardheaded one.' _Looking at the emerald a bit longer, a small smile came to Rouge's face before she chuckled a couple times. _'Heh, just like me.'_

Grinning, Rouge opened up her wings and flew to catch up with Shadow, eventually flying right beside him as he kept on walking.

Looking over and seeing the bat, Shadow raised one of his eyesbrows, wondering why she was there. "What're you doing?"

"What's it look like?" she responded as she landed on her feet and began walking with him. "I'm going with you."

Shadow stopped walking, letting out a sigh. He had a feeling that Rouge would try something like this but was hoping to avoid it. "Why? If anything, you'd be saving yourself a lot of trouble if you didn't follow me."

Rouge frowned before she stood directly in front of Shadow, looking him right in his eyes. "Look, you're not the only one who's got a bone or two to pick with those Metarx clowns. Those guys have officially gotten on my bad side and I want to show them what happens when you mess with me." Her voice once again went soft and her ears also fell against her head, something she didn't do very often. "And on a bit more of a personal level, I'm worried about Molly too. She's out there somewhere and needs our help. She believed in us, you know. You, specifically. She really thought you were that Black Wind guy she mentioned in that story. That says a lot about how highly she thought of you, wouldn't you agree?"

Remembering the legend of Black Wind that Molly told him, Shadow closed his eyes and crossed his arms. He thought it was just a fairy tale to begin with but perhaps there was more to that story than he thought. "Hmm, if you say so." His focus shifted to the Chaos Emerald in her hand. "And Eggman?"

Rouge followed his gaze and smirked. "Oh, you mean this? He won't be needing this any time soon." She grinned as she placed the emerald down the front of her outfit and between her large cleavage. "And besides, this little baby might come in handy for us. You never know." The look on her face changed to a thoughtful one. " Although, to tell you the truth, I don't think we'll need it."

Needless to say, her last comment got Shadow's attention. "And why is that?" he asked, opening his eyes and looking back at her.

"Because, if there's anything I've learned from all the time's we've worked together, its that we kick some serious tail," Rouge answered while smiling and placing her hands on her hips, winking at the hedgehog. "The two of us make a pretty damn good team."

A rare laugh came from Shadow then, a laugh that Rouge had to admit she enjoyed hearing and seeing. It sure beat the usual scowl or from he had on his face most of the time.

"I suppose you do have a good point," he said. "And the odds will certainly be more in our favor if we work in tandem."

Rouge nodded her head, glad she was able to convince him to let her join him. "Then its settled!"

"Alright." Shadow began walking once again, Rouge walking right alongside him. "Having a companion along could be very benificial."

"Hey, not just a companion anymore pal," Rouge said as she playfully hit him arm. "You can consider me a friend after all we've been through. Or even an ally, at the least."

Shadow went quiet for a few seconds as he thought that over. He had never considered anyone other than Maria to be his friend. His mind was telling him if he had to pick one, Rouge would be an ally more than a friend. However, his heart was telling him differently. "I think I prefer...'friend' more than 'ally.'"

Rouge's eyes went wide with shock. She was seriously just joking around and wasn't expecting to hear Shadow acknowledge her as such. Despite that, it didn't stop the smile that came to her face. And not one of her being happy with getting her way. This time it was a true genuine smile showing how happy she was that she was considered to be a friend.

"In any case," Shadow said, hsi eyes buring with determination. "We'd better not waste any time and get a move on. We've got a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it."

"Yeah. And we'll do it together," Rouge said before noticing Shadow had uncrossed his arms. It was then that she got an idea.

As the two of them continued on their way, Shadow became lost in his thoughts, thinking of possible plans of attacks as it concerns the Metarex and where to begin looking for Molly. He was so into thinking so many things at once that he didn't realize Rouge had gently clasped his hand with her own. Immediately being snapped from his thoughts, he looked over at the bat and was met by her warm smile as well as her holding his hand slightly tighter. Although he wasn't used to this kind of affection from anyone, Shadow quickly followed suit by smirking a smile back at her and holding her hand back. He and Rouge had no idea what awaited them in on their upcoming journey, nor did they care.

All they knew that as long as they were together, there was nothing they couldn't do.

_**~The End~**_

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_**~Author's Note~**_

_**I'm well aware that in the original version of "A Revolutionary Tale," otherwise known as "On A Destroyed Planet," Molly in fact died in the battle with the Metarex instead of just escaping like the English dub implied. I grew up watching the English dub version of the show and therefore wrote this story based off the episode I have the most experience with. **_

_**I hope those of you who read it and enjoyed it! Until next time my fellow readers and authors, later and happy reading!**_


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